City of Temple to Resume Recycling Service on May 18

Last week, it was reported that the City of Temple has dumped about 630 tons of recyclables into the Temple landfill since suspending its recycling operations in mid-March. The decision to cease recycling was a safety measure meant to protect City employees whose jobs involve physically sorting through the materials that make their way to Temple's Recycling Transfer Facility.

Now that Texas is in the process of "re-opening" after the COVID-19 pandemic prompted statewide shutdowns, Temple is set to resume its recycling program on Monday, May 18.

There will be no change to residential pickup schedules, so you can stick to the date you've always kept for taking your recycling bin to the curb. If you're not sure what that date is, go the interactive map here and type your address into the box at the top-left corner. Once you've entered that info, you'll see a graphic displaying not only your recycling pick-up day, but your garbage and bulk/brush pick-up days as well.

The City of Temple has a full list of acceptable recyclables here. Reminder: If you've been putting regular garbage into your bin these past few weeks, please transfer it to your regular garbage bin if possible. You'll be doing the folks at the transfer center a huge favor, and you'll avoid getting one of those brightly colored notes reminding you not to put trash in the green bins.

City officials say they're taking extra precautions to protect the health and safety of employees during the continuing COVID-19 pandemic. Employees will be given respirators and gloves, as well as extra training in social distancing. Additional ventilation and a hand-washing sink will also be installed at the transfer center.

"The City's curbside recycling program is a service we are proud to provide for residents," Public Works Director Don Bond recently said. "We are happy we were able to find a way to resume this service while still maintaining proper safety precautions."

During the suspension of service, Recycle Drop Off Center #2 at 602 Jack Baskin Drive remained open for residents to leave materials. That will not change, and Recycle Drop Off Center #1 at 3015 Bullseye Lane will re-open on Monday, May 18.

If you have any questions or concerns, reach out to the City of Temple's Solid Waste Department at (254) 298-5725.